Edinburgh

Why Edinburgh works

Edinburgh Castle crowns an extinct volcanic plug overlooking the city, its ramparts holding the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny, used in the coronation of Scottish and later British monarchs and returned to Scotland only in 1996. The Royal Mile descends from the castle through the medieval Old Town, past narrow closes (alleyways) that hide centuries of grim and fascinating history — plague victims, body-snatchers and the site that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde — down to Holyroodhouse, the monarch's official Scottish residence, still used for state functions. Beyond the Old Town's tenements, the Georgian New Town, a UNESCO World Heritage masterpiece of neoclassical planning, offers wide streets and crescents including Princes Street, with the Gothic Scott Monument towering over public gardens where the old Nor Loch once stood. Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano within the city, rewards a short hike with panoramic views over the Firth of Forth. Each August, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe transforms the city into the world's largest arts festival, with thousands of performances in venues ranging from grand theatres to converted cupboards, while whisky bars along the Royal Mile offer tastings spanning Scotland's regional distilleries, from peaty Islay malts to smoother Speyside drams.

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